Case studies

Promoting car-free tourism to the Jurassic Coast

22nd August 2026
CASE STUDY | Through a mini-website, video guides, magazine campaigns and more, we’re working with South Western Railway, East Devon District Council and Purbeck Community Rail Partnership to inspire visitors to explore East Devon and Dorset's Jurassic Coast by train and onward bus.

Supporting Mid Cornwall Metro

13th May 2026
CASE STUDY | Building on our experience creating and running the official DartmoorLine.com website, we developed the website, logo and visual brand for the £56m Mid Cornwall Metro project. When Newquay's hourly train service begin as the first phase of the project, we promoted it through targeted social media, bus stop and local newspaper advertising.

Tamar Valley Festival of Blossom

10th May 2026
CASE STUDY | The Tamar Valley Festival of Blossom was devised by the National Trust Cotehele and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership as a way to engage communities around the Tamar Valley Line with the train and natural environment through a series of blossom focused events.

Looe Pirate Trail

2nd May 2026
CASE STUDY | In 2023, our pirate treasure hunt attracted more than 300 children to visit Looe by train and explore the town’s shops. In 2026 we brought it back bigger than ever: running it throughout the school summer holidays.

Helping deliver the Looe Valley Line’s best year yet

25th January 2026
CASE STUDY | The May 2025 improved timetable on the Looe Valley Line is a story of community rail and the tourism sector working together. It began with Looe’s tourism sector wanting better connections with the main line, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) championing the idea, and GWR making it happen. DCRP then worked with tourism partners on a wide-ranging campaign to promote the new timetable. Local press, leaflets, station posters and nearly 50 social media posts saw the campaign reach 1.2 million people, attracting 17,000 likes. This led to 2025 becoming the line's busiest on record.

Cornwall Pay As You Go

2nd October 2025
CASE STUDY | In 2023 we supported the initial West Cornwall roll-out of Pay As You Go travel with a 'how to' video. In 2025 when the scheme went county-wide (all including journeys to/from Plymouth and on the Tamar Valley Line) we updated the video in partnership with GWR and Cornwall Council.

Fantastic Facts

19th September 2025
CASE STUDY | 2025 was the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, and as part of the national Railway 200 celebrations, the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership dug into the archives to uncover some of the unexpected and wonderful ways in which the railway has shaped and enriched life in the South West.

Birds on the branch line

25th April 2025
CASE STUDYUsing the theme of bird conservation, Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and poet Sally Crabtree engaged vulnerable groups on the Looe Valley Line to give them increased skills and confidence to travel by train.

Rail Ale Trails

15th October 2024
CASE STUDY | With widespread pub closures an issue of national concern, the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership supports nearly a hundred real ale pubs through our Rail Ale Trail scheme.

Bus branch lines

2nd November 2023
CASE STUDY | DCRP came together with GWR, local authorities and bus operators to produce and promote a series of 10 ‘travelogue’ short films to inspire visits to leisure destinations across Devon and Cornwall using joined-up sustainable transport.

Walks from the Railway

4th November 2022
CASE STUDY | To respond to people’s urge to get back outdoors following the pandemic, the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) mounted a year-long campaign to promote the scenic ‘walks from the railway’ available across the two counties.

Destination Dartmoor

2nd November 2022
CASE STUDY | With all the excitement and attention surrounding the re-opening of Okehampton station the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) working with Mayes Creative (MC), wanted to ensure communities in Okehampton and Crediton were engaged with the railway in as broad a way as possible across all age groups, abilities and interests.

Bere Alston’s former signalbox restored

1st November 2022
CASE STUDY | Turning an eyesore into an asset for the local community

St Ives Bay Line art competition

2nd November 2021
CASE STUDY | More than 75 entries showcased talent within the community

CreativiTea trains

8th October 2019
CASE STUDY | Find out about our inter-generational tea parties on the train to explore memories of the railway and bring people together. The project won the "Best Community Engagement" category at the national Community Rail Awards.

Looe Valley Line heritage project

8th October 2019
CASE STUDY | We worked with the local community to tell the hidden stories of the past 160 years on the Looe Valley Line. We produced video documentaries, a mobile phone app, interpretation boards and more to bring history to life.

Gunnislake tiles project

8th October 2019
CASE STUDY | The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership worked with the local community to replace damaged and decrepit tiles at Gunnislake with creative and durable new works of art.

Foodie Guides

26th June 2018
CASE STUDY | We have launched Foodie Guides for four branch lines to highlight food businesses along each route that champion local produce and sustainability, and to inspire rail travel to the area.

Carbon Reduction Challenge

15th June 2017
CASE STUDY | The Carbon Reduction Challenge was an inter-schools competition to encourage local schools to swap car journeys for train journeys to reduce their carbon footprint.

Seize The Sunday

9th June 2017
CASE STUDY | When a long-held aspiration is close to being achieved, it’s important to seal the deal – and that’s exactly what happened on the Avocet Line (Exeter-Exmouth) when our marketing campaign led to a 22% jump in Sunday journeys.